The present invention relates to flexible illuminating safety belts and in particular to a safety belt having an electroluminescent flexible strip extending substantially the length of the belt and exposed to the exterior thereof.
The concept of lighted safety belts is well known as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,745, U.S. Pat. No. 2,378,075, U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,918. These structures are generally too complicated and difficult to manufacture and have not, to applicant's knowledge, had any success in the market place. Therefore, although the concept of a lighted safety belt appears to have significant merit with respect to the various applications such as bicycle riders, safety guards, policemen, children, swimmers, divers, etc., they have not gained wide acceptance due to the difficulty in manufacture and/or the cost of manufacture.
There remains a need to provide a simple safety belt which is illuminated to provide a highly visible light source indicating the presence of the user under low light conditions.